Description

A poster presented at the 2012 Global Pulse Researchers Meeting, Kigali, Rwanda- “Transforming Grain-Legume Systems to Enhance Nutrition and Livelihoods”. Abstract: Cowpeas are an important source of essential macro-and micro nutrients in developing countries. Long cooking times of some cowpea varieties are an important constraint for cowpea utilization. Dehulling may be an effective means to help reduce the cooking time of cowpeas. This study aimed to determine the effect of dehulling on cooking and sensory characteristics of selected cowpeas types. Four cowpea types, representing different seed coat and cotyledon structures, were selected for this study: The following analyses were done on whole and dehulled cowpea samples: Water absorption during cooking, cooking time using the Mattson cooker, Texture of cooked cowpeas using a texture analyzer, Descriptive sensory analyses using a trained panel and Consumer sensory analyses using consumers familiar with cooked cowpeas. Dehulled cowpeas had higher rates of water absorption during cooking compared to whole cowpeas. Cooking times ranged from 80 to 126 min for whole cowpeas types and 26 to 32 min for dehulled cowpeas types. The texture of cooked cowpeas ranged from 22 to 42 N/g for whole cowpeas cooked for 125 min and from 12 to 34 N/g for dehulled cowpeas cooked for 30 min. Cooked cowpea aroma and flavour were perceived at higher intensities in whole than in dehulled cowpeas. Nutty and grassy aromas were perceived in dehulled cowpeas. Overall scores for three of the cowpea types were somewhat higher than for their whole counterparts. Dehulling of cowpeas can be used to help reduce the cooking time of cowpeas without adversely affecting the sensory acceptability.